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Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Big Gulps

Earlier today, the First Department of New York State's Appellate Division upheld a ruling that struck down Mayor Bloomberg's controversial portion cap rule or "soda ban." The ban would've prohibited movie theatres and other restaurants and eating establishments from serving specific sugary beverages in quantities larger than 16 ounces. Of course diet sodas were exempt and patrons would still be able to purchase multiple 16 ounce beverages, but logic, or something...

The unanimous decision by the Appellate Division stated, "the Board of Health failed to act within the bounds of its lawfully delegated authority. Accordingly, we declare the regulation to be invalid, as violative of the principle of separation of powers." Ouch.

Unlike the prior ruling which found the portion cap rule to be, "arbitrary and capricious," the Appellate Division did not dive into this issue. Rather they vetted whether or not the New York City Board of Health amending a rule with wide reaching ramifications crossed into legislative authority. The Appellate Division did take the time to express their concern that the portion cap rule, "necessarily looks beyond health concerns, in that it manipulates choices to try to change consumer norms."

Had the rule change sanctioning the portion cap rule remained in tact, countless small businesses might have suffered. The NAACP New York State Conference and the Hispanic Federation alleged the portion cap rule would, "selectively and unfairly harm small and minority-owned businesses by discriminatorily preventing them from selling large 'sugary beverages' while allowing their large competitors such as 7-11 and grocery stores to carry the banned sugary beverages," in an amicus brief. While the Appellate Division did not make any claims regarding minority owned business, they did recognize that the portion cap rule, "resulted in a ban that includes exceptions which necessarily favors some businesses and products at the expenses of others."

Bloomberg insisted “today’s decision is a temporary setback, and we plan to appeal this decision as we continue the fight against the obesity epidemic.” Meanwhile, Bloomberg is urging Congress to prohibit the use of foodstamps for the purchase of sugary drinks.

I am glad to see that some lawmakers still have some common sense. It is hard for me to believe that a city would even waste time or money on this issue. If you follow this line of reasoning should a person have to bring in multiple ID's to prove that they have friends sharing the extra large pizza they just bought. Obesity is definitely an issue in America, but it is a person's responsibility to seek help if they suffer form being over weight.

Economic freedom is the greatest gift ever bestowed on man. In the United States, we saw the greatest industrial revolution the world had ever experienced. We set the bar for achievement with the production of the automobile, we put men in the air and built ships of amazing size. We revolutionized steel production and built bridges that stand strong to this day as a symbol of American ingenuity.

Is this spike in job growth a sign that businesses are hopeful for the economy under the Trump administration? According to the May, 2017 ADP Employment Report, the private sector added 253,000 jobs in the month of May, up from 174,00 jobs added in April. Small businesses account for one-third for the workforce creating 83,000 new jobs last month with increases in construction, education and health, and professional business services. Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics is hopeful that the government's 4.4 percent unemployment rate will soon drop below 4 percent.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) reintroduced the CREATES Act, S. 974, in an effort to close regulatory loopholes at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that limit competition in the emerging market for biosimilars. Sen. Mike Lee and all of the other cosponsors of last year’s bill have returned as cosponsors. Rep. Tom Marino also introduced this bill in the House of Representatives on April 27th.

On Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee held a hearing (more of a grilling) as Mylan’s CEO, Heather Bresch, the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) took to the floor to give a defense of the EpiPen’s price hikes and to receive a verbal smackdown from an assortment of legislators.

FreedomWorks Foundation drove more than 21,000 responses against new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Education that would implement parts of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that was passed by Congress in December 2015 and signed into law by President Barack Obama. The comment period for the proposed rules ended on Monday, August 1.

Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a new proposed rule designed to line the pockets of trial lawyers. The seemingly innocuous rule would effectively outlaw certain contractual provisions related to consumer financial products. But rather than protecting consumers, this proposed rule was about helping trial lawyers, a special interest that overwhelmingly supports Democrats like President Obama. Now, you have the opportunity to comment on this rule and tell the CFPB to stay out of your financial decisions.

Following the announcement of a bipartisan letter spearheaded by Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) and co-signed by 176-member of the House urging leadership to bring to the floor a joint resolution to end the USDA catfish inspection program, FreedomWorks Director of Government Relations Neil Siefring commented:

In August 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in a departure from decades of precedent, unilaterally redefined what it means to be an employer. In the administrative decision, Browning-Ferris v NLRB, the unelected NLRB decreed that some employers were responsible for the employees of others. This action threatens to destroy the franchise model of business, harming job creation and putting 40,000 small businesses at risk. The difficulties for small business created by this decision are highlighted today in a Senate Small Business Committee hearing.